Confused
by Blood57
Summary: H+F! Hermione has many thoughts on her mind, including her dead parents and her crush, Fred. What happens when Fred comforts her after a nightmare and fall asleep with her? How will they explain themselves to Mr.W. And what is the thong that just HAPPENS
1. Chapter 1 Nightmare and Comfort

H+F and Mr. + Mrs. Weasley are the only ones in the house because everyone else went out...Hermione has a nightmare...Fred comes to comfort her...He falls asleep w/her...Mr. Weasley sees...Mr. Weasley freaks...

STARTED story: April 19th, 2003

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

A/N: A little over-view of what's going on. Hermione's parents are dead, thanks to Voldermort, though they had been dead for about 2 months (which would ruin anyone's summer holidays…), Hermione is still having on and off nightmares about them. It's about a week before term starts (fifth year), and Hermione is staying at the Weasleys's house. Rated PG-13 for swearing and some other stuff.

 Confused Chapter 1 By Blood57 

_"Hermione?" Dad's voice quivered._

_"DAD! MUM!" I screamed. They were tied to a big rock in the middle of a cemetery. I looked around, but no one was there. In fact, the only thing that was there besides them were tombstones and dead weeds._

_I started running, I guess to untie them, but Mum screamed out something I couldn't hear._

_"What?" I stopped running._

_"It's a -" she began, but suddenly, they were both dangling downward as though they were dead._

_"TRAP!" An evil voice finished for her. Its laugh echoed across the graveyard. I started to cry._

_"Who are you?" I screamed angrily._

_"LORD VOLDERMORT!" The voice boomed as I continued to cry._

_"Silly girl...do not cry...soon you will join them!"_

I screamed for what seemed like an eternity, until I bolted upright in my bed. Well, technically, it was the Weasleys's bed; I was just staying at their house for about a week or so, until the new term started (My fifth year). I breathed heavily, as I heard a door open. I sunk into the pillow, hoping that I would just disappear. I knew who was going to walk through the doors. (My crush for about 4 months) I wish I hadn't had that stupid dream again!

"Hermione," a deep voice whispered, flicking on the light. My eyes caught sight of Fred, and lingered on his disheveled hair.

"Is everything alright?" He asked. My breath faltered slightly, as my eyes fell upon his dimples 

"Um...yeah, I was just having a nightmare." I said, as he edged closer to "my" bed.

"What about?" He asked sitting on my bed.

"I feel so childish," I said, shaking my head. I wanted him to come closer, so that I could kiss him.

"Come on, we all have nightmares," he said, "Even I have nightmares. It's all because our subconscious is bored."

"Well, it was about my parents..." my voice trailed off, and suddenly I found myself crying in Fred's arms.

_You idiot! _I told myself, _stop crying! You're just making a fool out of yourself!_

_I don't care,_ another voice said, _they're dead! THEY'RE DEAD! And they're NOT coming back!_

It made me cry even harder.

"I'm sorry," Fred said softly, massaging my shoulder with his strong arms. I liked the feeling of his embrace; it made me feel secure.

"Why are _you_ sorry?" I sniffed, trying not to sound rude.

"I encouraged you," he said, looking at his knee. A couple of minutes went by in silence. I had stopped crying.

"I guess I didn't wake anybody else," I said, judging by the fact that no one else came into the room.

"No one else is here," Fred said quietly.

"Where is everyone else?" I asked.

"George is staying over at Lee's," Fred began.

"Why didn't you go?" I interrupted him. He shrugged.

"I didn't feel like it. I'm not really in a giddy mood," Fred said.

"That's a first," I muttered, but when I looked back into his eyes, I knew he had heard. I immediately felt bad. I surprised even myself, I admitted, when I said that. He had such an intense stare, that I had to break eye contact.

"I'm sorry," I nearly whispered.

"It's fine." He said. "You know what," he said after a few seconds, letting go of me (A/N: He was hugging her all this time.) "NO! It's not fine! That is so stereotypical of everyone to just assume because you'd rather be happy then dwell in misery that you're automatically classified as someone who doesn't have one ounce of sincerity in them!" He said quickly, but at the same time, angrily.

"I didn't mean to," I said meekly. _Please don't be angry with me_, I thought, _PLEASE DON'T BE ANGRY WITH ME! I like you! Can't you see that?_ __

"I'm sorry Hermione, I didn't mean to snap at you, I haven't been myself these last couple of days. I'm sorry," he said again, running a hand through his hair.

I looked up at him. He certainly appeared to be sincere.

"I just -" he began, but stopped, shaking his head.

"You just what?" I asked him gently.

"I just -" he sighed, "I just thought that YOU of all people would understand."

"Understand what?" I asked him uncertainly.

"That I'm not all fun and games. That, even though that part of me ISN'T a mask, that deep down I am sincere," He said, closing his eyes.

"I do understand! It's exactly the same as everyone thinking that I can't have fun just because I like to study. Look, this is my fault. I shouldn't have made that nasty remark," I said.

"Um…so, why isn't anyone else home?" I asked, trying to change the subject. It felt really weird calling this home.

"Ginny, Mum, Dad and Percy went to see Bill and Charlie," he said. "Ron and Harry went to Diagon Alley to have some GUY TIME…alone," he said, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

I laughed. "You mean, like George and Lee," I said, laughing. Fred joined in.

_So we're all alone,_ I thought. _Hmmm…interesting! Maybe I could pursue my desires from about 4 months ago now!_

"When is everyone coming back?" I asked casually, not to make it seem as if I didn't like his company.

"I think tomorrow," he said. Another moment of silence, and then-

"Fred, I know I'm going to sound really stupid, but could you stay here?" I asked.

"Just in case I have another nightmare," I blurted out, seeing his curious look. He nodded his head. He looked around for a chair, but there was none. Coming to the conclusion that the only place he could stay was the bed, he took his time to close the light. As he came closer to the bed, I pretended not to notice that fact that he was blushing. It was dark, but I could see that he was blushing.

"Good night Fred," I whispered into his ear, breathing onto it. I bet he was blushing around his ears too.

"Sweet dreams, Hermonie," he said in a low voice.

"You too," I said. I subconsciously scooted next to Fred. Even thought it was dark, I could still see the outline of his face. I was inches away from his. I could also see his eyes, which were wide open. I suddenly reached out to touch his hair. It felt soft and smooth. He did not protest, which struck me as odd.

_Maybe he's asleep. _I thought. _He looks so sexy…Kiss him! WHAT? _A different voice inside my head asked._ You know you want to, _The voice said. I bit my lip hesitantly. I did want to, I was just afraid that if I did, he'd just push me away (not literally, but emotionally,) because I was his kid brother's best friend. I leaned forward and kissed him. He responded by opening his mouth and allowing my tongue to enter his mouth. I put my hand on the back of his neck, and he flipped me over so that he was now on top of me. He continued to kiss me for what seemed like ages, but I finally broke off the kiss for lack of air.

"Goodnight Fred," I whispered, kissing him once more. It felt odd. I kissed Fred. I liked his kiss. I liked Fred. By the looks of it, he liked me. 4 months of praying, and finally, my prayers are answered. Why am I not leaping up and down? Everything seemed fine, yet it wasn't.

_You're feeling guilty that you're happy, while  **they're** dead!_ That nagging voice inside my head said. I ignored myself, but instead, looking over at Fred, focused on the issue at hand.

_He's sweet, nice, kind, charming, handsome, friendly, humorous, loyal and…he's prefect!_

I was woken up by someone screaming. Maybe I was just dreaming the whole time. Maybe I hadn't kissed Fred. Maybe I hadn't listed a few of the many exceptional qualities I saw in him in my mind, and maybe the moment that I had always dreamed about (that Fred would kiss me), hadn't come true. Again, someone screamed, but, as though it was an immense effort on my part, I lifted my head off of the pillow so that I could hear, more properly.

"FREDRICK WEASLEY, WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!!!!????" shouted a very angry voice. Judging by the fact that it wasn't a shrilly voice, it was Mr. Weasley. But I couldn't understand why he was screaming at Fred…and why I could hear it if-

_Oh no…_I thought, _Fred is still sleeping in my bed…oh no! That must mean that the kiss did happen! YES! _I smiled happily.__

Pulling the covers over me more tightly, I opened my eyes and they landed on Fred's ocean blue ones. He mouthed sarcastically: _Sleep well?_ I smirked slightly, and leaned forward to kiss him. At that point, the covers were yanked from over our heads, and I quickly looked away, blushing.

"Good morning Mr. Weasley!" I said quietly.

"Fred, Hermione, explain yourselves!" He said, his wrath getting the better of him.

"I had a nightmare about my parents, and Fred came to comfort me," I began to explain, "But it was around 3 a.m., so we were both pretty tired, so we really didn't notice that we fell asleep," I said.

"So nothing happened?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"No," Fred finally remembered how to speak.

"Then what is the meaning of this?" He asked, holding up what appeared to be a black thong. My eyes widened in horror as I looked at it. It looked just like mine, but I had mine in my bag…or did I? _Wait a minute,_ I thought, _that lace isn't mine_.

"This isn't mine," I said, flushing slightly. I didn't dare turn my head at Fred (A/N: lol, imagine that it's his…^__^). Mr. Weasley looked at Fred expectantly.

"Well, it certainly isn't mine, if THAT'S why you're eyeing me!" Fred said heatedly, blushing around his ears. He took it in his hands and looked at the tag.

"G.W." he read.

"Ginny Weasley," I said, looking up at Mr. Weasley. "She must have dropped this here when she was moving her clothes to the other room," I said, trying very hard not to notice that all three of us were blushing. I took the thong from Mr. Weasley and threw it into Ginny's messy closet. A moment later I came back to "my" room, surprised that Mr. Weasley had left so quickly.

"That moment will haunt me forever," Fred said, shaking his head. He looked over at me, expecting me to laugh, but when I didn't, his face turned serious.

"We need to talk," I said, "Now!" Fred nodded, and we both sat on the bed.

"About last night," I began.

"Yeah, um…Hermione, I kind of had this crush on you, but I didn't know you felt the same way," Fred said.

"So you DO like me?" I asked.

"Of course… you don't know how happy I was last night. You touching my hair, kissing me, like we were…together," he blushed at his last word. I looked at him for a moment, but then he continued. "Do you feel the same way?"

"Yes," I said blissfully. It had been about a month before the end of the term that I started to toy with the thought of me being with Fred (which is a total of about 4 months!), but it wasn't like my average crush. My average crush lasted about 2 weeks, not **4 months**!

"So, would you like to go out with me?" He asked. I nodded, melting at the sight of his broad grin clashing violently with his ruffled hair.

"How could you, Hermione?!" A voice that was on the brink of tears called out from behind us.

A/N: Please R+R…this is my first story that I ever posted…dundundudndun!!!! Who was at the door? Did Hermione and Fred really have sex together and I just didn't feel like writing about it? And what was Ginny's thong doing in "Hermione's" room?! (I would rather not know that, actually) Please R+R so that I know what you think and if you want me to continue with the story or fix something… 

Thanks to all of my reviewers!!! READ "OF TRAGEDIES AND ROMANCE" BY ME, BLOOD57!!!!!!!

*^~^*BLOOD57*^~^*


	2. Chapter 2 Lies and Betrayal

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N: I know it's been a long time since I updated, but I had so much work!

Confused Chapter 2 

**By Blood57**

**(3rd person P.O.V.)**

"Ron, what are you getting all worked up about?" Hermione asked curiously.

"You knew," Ron said, his eyes flaring as he lifted a finger and pointed it towards Fred, "I can't believe it! You KNEW all along and...and you still- you...my own brother... -" Ron ran out of the room angrily, slamming the door behind him.

"What was that all about?" Hermione asked as Fred looked at the floor guiltily.

"Hermione, I thought that you would have figured it out by _now,_" Fred said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"What?" Hermione snapped impatiently. "Sorry," she said, biting her lip. "What?" she said more gently.

"Ron had a major crush on you," Fred said, looking at an open-mouthed Hermione.

"WHAT!?" Hermione said.

"You _honestly_ didn't know?" Fred asked slowly. Hermione shook her head, her eyes wide with shock. _That's why he's always been asking me to help him with his homework, ALONE, AWAY from the common room…Oh my GOD – Harry always mentioned that Ron had been eyeing me differently since the beginning of last year, and he nearly beat the living hell out of Viktor Krum after he invited me to spend the summer at his house._ Hermione's thoughts were racing. Everything stood before her, like a jigsaw puzzle waiting to be put together. And slowly, the pieces were coming together, unraveling themselves in her mind. 

"Hermione," Fred said, waving a hand in front of her face.

"Hmmm?" Hermione asked, snapping out of her thoughts.

"I'm going to go talk to Ron," he said, getting up to leave. He looked over to see if Hermione was okay, but she still seemed to be in a dazed mode. Shaking his head slightly, Fred left to go talk to Ron.

"Hermione!" she heard someone screaming her name. She got up from the bed, and looked down the hallway. A very angry red-haired girl was holding up the black thong that had been the cause of much chaos just moments before.

"Why did you touch my stuff?!" Ginny burst out angrily.

"What are you talking about?" Hermione asked innocently.

"You know perfectly well what I mean!" Ginny said crossly, shaking the thong around in her quivering hand as though it were a weapon.

"Ginny, I honestly don't know what you're -" Hermione began, but was cut in by Ginny's sudden sob. _The girl was weeping about a misplaced thong?_ Hermione asked herself. _And she thinks that's the worst of her problems? Think again, G.W._  Hermione smiled at the new nickname she had just thought of for Ginny.

"Why are you smiling?" Ginny sobbed again, storming into her room and slamming the door shut.

_Ginny's acting really weird, _Hermione thought,_ what did I do wrong?_  It seemed that today just wasn't a day for Hermione.

"What's all this noise!?" Percy stuck his head out of his room and looked annoyingly at Hermione. She looked down at the floor.

"Ginny was just having hysteria attacks," Hermione said as she watched Percy's face soften.

"Is she alright?" He asked, in a voice that was much unlike his own. Hermione nodded, and muttered a hurried excuse to leave.

"Ginny," Hermione said loudly, knocking on her door, "Open the door!" To Hermione's surprise, the door sprung open and she fell forward. Getting up, her eyes traveled up to meet Ginny's. They were red, as though she had been crying, which she had been, Hermione reminded herself.

"Ginny, what's going on?" Hermione asked.

"I – I – I… I don't want you to steal Fred!" Ginny finally managed to say.

"WHAT!?" Hermione said, which was the only word that her brain had registered in her vocabulary for the past hour or so.

"Oh, come off it! You're always _just happening_ to notice all the little details about Fred, and visa versa. I may be young, but I'm not dumb!" Ginny yelled the last part.

_So Fred has been noticing me before last night…hmmm…interesting. Maybe he had a crush on me before the whole dream thing, _Hermione thought to herself. 

"Ginny, we didn't…you know, we just fell asleep in the same bed. That _ALL!_" Hermione said, making sure Ginny got the hint.

"Fred is the only one who actually notices me and bothers to talk to me," Ginny said.

"Ginny, you know that's **_NOT_** true!" Hermione said firmly. Ginny looked angrily at the floor.

"Look, just forget about it!" Ginny said.

"I will _NOT!_" Hermione said, "Look, I'm telling you, NOTHING happened between me and Fred! No one is going to steal him away from you. And he's _not_ the only one who notices you!" Ginny nodded. "Why were you so upset about the thong?" Hermione asked. Ginny inhaled a sharp breath.

"I planted it in your bed," Ginny whispered.

"You WHAT!?" Hermione said. _Well, at least my vocabulary had expanded to include the word "you", _Hermione thought grimly.

"You guys were always talking about each other, I would have bet my life on it that you two were secretly engaged or something," she began to explain.

_So Fred has also been talking about me non-stop, _Hermione made a mental note to herself.

 "So I planted it there. I know it was stupid, and I know that I got you two in trouble, but I didn't know what to do, and I was just, I don't know," she said, shrugging, "Stupid," she said, as if it was a question. Hermione sighed heavily. 

"If you guys started going out, then there would be no one for me to be with," she said sadly.

"We're NOT going out!" Hermione said, trying to comfort Ginny while secretly praying that she sounded convincing enough to pull it off. "And that's NOT true!" Hermione was starting to get annoyed. Ginny just wasn't getting it.

"Ron is going to be there for you, and so is Fred and George. And if you ever need anyone to talk to you can also come to Harry or me. And if it's really that bad, you can always owl your mum and dad and Bill and Charlie and Percy. You know that Ginny, right?" Ginny just nodded. "Then I don't see what the problem is," Hermione said. "Are you okay now?" she asked.

"As long as you aren't going out with Fred, I'm fine," Ginny said. _Ooohhh… _Hermione thought, _that's not good. If Fred and me are going to – wait, no - correction,_ **_WHEN_**_ Fred and me are going to go out, she'll find out. Then again, oh, I don't know, I mean - Should I tell her now? If I do, she'll have another fit, but if I don't, she'll think I betrayed her trust and friendship when she DOES find out. Well, maybe she won't find out. Hhhmmm – what to do???_

Hermione didn't have to think about it much longer because at that point, George walked in.

"Mum said to go downstairs for dinner," and with that, he left just as quickly as he came.

"I need to go to the bathroom," Ginny said quickly, and walked out of there quickly, leaving a very confused Hermione behind.

"Hermione, Ginny, Percy, come down to eat!" Mrs. Weasley called from downstairs. Hermione heard Percy's door squeak open heavily and close with a dull thud. A moment later, Ginny ran down the stairs, sprinting pass Hermione as though she was not there. Hermione shrugged, but then heard someone whispering franticly.

"Hermione!" Fred whispered.

"What?" she asked, coming closer to the corner in which he had been hiding.

"What happened with Ginny?" Fred asked as Hermione tried to look him in the eye. The corner he was in cast a heavy shadow on his face, so Hermione could barley make out any of his features.

"Long story, I'll tell you later," Hermione said, "What happened with Ron?"

"This," Fred said, stepping out of the shadow and revealing a black eye. Hermione covered her mouth with her hands.

"Oh my god! Fred, are you okay? You should put some ice on it!" Hermione frantically listed suggestions, but Fred shut her up with a wave of his hand.

"I'm fine. I – I know a spell to heal it, but I also need to make a potion, so that will take about a week…" Fred stopped talking for a minute, his eyes giving Hermione the impression that he was in a trance. Hermione held out a finger and softly touched the flesh underneath the eye.

"Does it hurt?" She asked, her voice rather hoarse.

"No," Fred snapped out of his trance, his voice lower than usual. Hermione didn't know how it happened so quickly, but a moment later she and Fred were in the dark corner kissing each other.

"I don't believe it! One black eye wasn't enough? Now you want TWO black eyes?!" Hermione reluctantly broke the kiss.

"You LIED to me Hermione, you LIED TO ME!!!" A different voice called.

"Ginny, I wa-"

"No – NO!" Ginny put her hands over her ears and ran into her room, crying hysterically.

"Fred, you are GOING to pay when I finish with Ginny!" Ron said, going into Ginny's room to comfort her. Hermione looked over at Fred intently.

"How come everything isn't going my way today?" Hermione whined, pouting. Fred started walking in the other direction.

"Where are you going?" Hermione asked.

"Didn't you hear Ron? I'm getting the hell out of here before he makes it physically impossible for me to move," Fred said, shaking his head.

"But you're stronger than him!" Hermione protested.

"That doesn't matter," Fred said, "You know how Ron's blood boils when something that he has is taken away by someone else," Fred continued walking as Hermione followed behind him.

"Excuse me," Hermione said, "But I do **not **belong to ANYONE!"

"You know what I mean," Fred said, turning the corner. Hermione stopped abruptly and put her hands on her hips.

"No, I DON'T know what you mean! Care to enlighten me?"

"Let's not do this," Fred said, continuing to walk. Hermione followed after him, forgetting that she was supposed to be angry with him.

"Do what?" she asked.

"Fight," he said, "I didn't say that you were MINE - that I owned you…Ron did," Fred said, avoiding Hermione's eyes.

"Well then, I guess I need to straighten some things out with Ron," Hermione crossed her arms impatiently.

"Guess so," Fred said. Hermione was now running to keep up with him.

"You know, I'm not _YOUR'S_ either!" she said a little louder than she had intended.

"Again, I didn't say that you _were_ mine," Fred now started to jog hurriedly. 

"Where are you going?" Hermione asked again.

"I have to get prepared. Look, it's sort of a "tradition" that me, Ron and George do. Whenever we have a fight and get really pissed at each other, we have a face-off," Fred explained.

"A face-off?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, it's when we go outside into the forest that's down two blocks from here at midnight. We just duel each other. It's not too much fun, because someone always ends up with a broken arm or leg," Fred said. Hermione looked in horror at his face.

"That was a joke, at most I'll get a few scars and a couple of bruises………Hermione? Are you okay?" Fred waved his hands in front of Hermione's face.

"You're NOT going," Hermione said, as though that settled the matter.

"Excuse me, _now_ look **who's** being possessive!" Fred said angrily.

"I don't want you to get hurt," Hermione tried to plead with him.

"Listen, I can do whatever I want to do and you can't stop me. I have a right to defend myself and that's exactly what I'm going to do!"

"Fine, go ahead, but don't expect me to care if anything happens to you!" Hermione said angrily. Fred, who had stopped running, snorted, as though he didn't believe her.

"I know you'd care," he said, holding her chin in between his fingers.

"No I wouldn't" Hermione said through gritted teeth. Fred raised an eyebrow, and smiled, causing Hermione to burst out laughing.

"Told you!" Fred said in a singsong voice.

"That doesn't prove anything," Hermione had recomposed herself.

"This might," Fred said and he leaned over and kissed Hermione. A few seconds went by, and he broke the kiss, but Hermione grabbed his head again and began kissing him like a mad women. Again, Fred broke the kiss.

"See," he said, a glint of victory in his eyes, "Told you!"

"Fine!" Hermione said, "I have to go to dinner. In fact, so do you. What should I tell your mum when she asks for your whereabouts?" Hermione asked apprehensively.

"Just tell her you don't know," Fred said, "But that's only if she asks you. If you tell her voluntarily, she'll know something's up." Hermione opened her mouth to object, but Fred put a finger over her lips to silence her.

"Trust me," he said, "Mum has her ways of knowing when something's up. I have to go now. Bye," Fred said, kissing Hermione on the cheek. She turned around to go eat dinner but then turned back to –

"Where did you go?" Hermione asked no one in particular. Fred was already gone.

"Hermione!!!" A voice behind her caused her to jump up.

A/N: I know, I know, a cliffhanger, how could I be so incredibly cruel….oh well! By the way, it's not who you think it is, or maybe it is! (Who DO you think it is?) R/R thank-you!!! *NOTE*: Hermione and Fred woke up at around 3;45 p.m. because they slept in really late, that is why they are having dinner, because until they sorted out the whole mess, it was about 2 hours (if you don't want to believe that, than just use your imagination! And besides, Mrs. Weasley eats dinner at 5:00 p.m. – because after dinner the Weasleys and their guests just hang out and stuff...so...)! AND DON'T FORGET TO CHECK OUT MY OTHER STORY, "OF TRAGEDIES AND ROMANCE" BY BLOOD57!!!

*^~^*BLOOD57*^~^*


	3. Chapter 3 PMS and the Warning

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N: I know it's been a long time since I updated, but I had so much work! Thank the good lord that school is over and that it's FINALLY SUMMER! Now I'll have plenty of time to write! ^__^

Confused 

**Chapter 3******

**By Blood57**

"Harry, is that you?" Hermione asked, startled.

"I didn't know that Fred was your boyfriend," Harry said, ignoring her question.

"Well, I-"

"You just tripped and your tongue landed in his throat?!" Harry practically yelled.

"Harry, I would have expected this reaction from Ron, but not from _you_," Hermione said, taken aback.

"Well I'm so sorry if I don't fall into the prefect category of your planned out life!!!" Harry stormed off and slammed the door (which led to "his" and Ron's room) behind him. 

Hermione buried her head in her hands, inhaling deeply. When she got downstairs, no one seemed to notice that she had not been in the room for a good fifteen minutes, nor did they notice that she had just ENTERED the room. Seeing as how everyone was either busy eating or occupying themselves by talking loudly to one another, Hermione wondered if anyone would notice her sneak some food out for Fred, but even if she didn't manage to be seen (which was unfeasible as Mrs. Weasley had just called out "Hermione, come and eat with us!" so abruptly that everyone turned their heads towards her) she would not have known where to go with the food since Fred had not told her where he had gone off to "practice".  Hermione nodded at Mrs. Weasley's request, feeling oddly numb. Hermione reached for the empty seat next to Ron, but recoiled slightly, at the sight of Ron's venomous eyes. Shaking her head, for she was convinced that she had just heard Ron emit a low grunt, Hermione seated herself next to Percy at the end of the table, just opposite Mrs. Weasley.

"Are you tired dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked kindly as Hermione sat down, frowning slightly as Ginny told George to go shove it up his...but collected herself as her husband told Ginny off for using "imprudent language!" though Hermione was sure Mrs. Weasley would rather Mr. Weasley say something along the lines of "inapt language!" but all the same... 

"Kind of...yeah," Hermione nodded, feeling that if she didn't continue to converse with Mrs. Weasley, she would most likely tell off everyone who was flicking bits of potatoes at each other, which was not exactly what Hermione wanted, seeing as how her ears had already begun to ring and she didn't need Mrs. Weasley shouting on top of it all.

"Do you want to be excused? You can go sleep upstairs – I'll save you some dinner if you'd like," she whispered the last part.

"That would be great – thanks," Hermione said, nodding politely, getting up.

"Where are you going?" Ron, who had been absorbed in his food, though he hadn't broken eye contact with Hermione, asked. He tried to make his voice sound casual but his efforts were in vain because it reached everyone's ears as a high-pitched squeak. Before Hermione could answer, Mrs. Weasley scolded Ron (Much to Hermione's relief – she really didn't have the energy to make up some pathetic excuse to satisfy Ron) for "pestering her when she's too tired to even explain instead of letting her be – you have no manners what so ever do you Ron?"

Hermione snorted, but it was stifled by George making a choking sound. Everyone turned their attention to him, even Hermione, though she pretended to be taking her time to walk out of the room.

"What have I been telling you for years??!! How come you never listen ME when I tell you that Ron has no manners?"

"When did you ever say that?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"Remember that time when I asked him to do my homework?" George said.

"And...?" Mrs. Weasley was expecting more than that.

"And he DIDN'T do it! The nerve of him! My own flesh and blood...my own flesh and blood!" George concluded dramatically.  

Hermione just shook her head as she headed upstairs, taking the steps three at a time.

The first thing she noted was that the door to Ron's room was locked, and she could see a thin sheet of light sneaking its way past the bottom of the door and onto the sand-toned carpet. She suspected that Harry was in there, but she had no idea what he was doing. Hermione let it go for now, seeing as how she had more urgent things on her mind at the moment, such as the fact that Fred hadn't eaten and he needed his energy for what would happen in a few hours. _You don't have to let it happen,_ a voice inside Hermione's head told her, _you can stop it_. _You do **want** to stop it, don't you?_ The voice continued. Of course she wanted to, that was out of the question. She would not let her best friend and her boyfriend – her boyfriend – her...Hermione smiled. It had a nice ring to it. Her boyfriend...she continued to smile. She backtracked to her previous thoughts – She would not let her best friend and her boyfriend duel each other. What if one of them got hurt? She would have to tell someone, but who? She couldn't tell Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, because they would punish Fred and Ron, and, though she knew they deserved it, their tempers would flare more so than she could only imagine, singling her out for the reasons of their punishment. Percy would probably do worse than Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, and she could not risk that, though, in any other circumstances, Percy would be the ideal authoritative figure Hermione would call upon for guidance. Ginny could not be approached by Hermione because she would probably start weeping for no apparent reason (again) and Harry...well Hermione had no idea why Harry was suddenly throwing a tantrum, but she thought it wouldn't be the wisest move to approach him after what had happened. The only person left was George, but she wasn't really sure if informing George would help the situation. As Hermione lay on top of the bed, there was a knock on her door that seemed to echo through the soundless floor.

"Come in," said Hermione quietly.

"Hermione," Ginny appeared out of the shadows, "Could I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure..." Hermione said wearily as she closed the door.

"Look, I – um, I owe you an explanation about what happened yesterday," Ginny's eyes met the ceiling, as though fascinated by it.

_Now this I HAVE to hear, _Hermione thought.

"Go on," Hermione said.

"Well, I was acting really moody because...I was P.M.S.ing and I know that's no excuse, but it was my first time so I was sort of..." her voice trailed off.  
  
****

"Congratulations," Hermione said, as though it was a question. She didn't really know what else to say, but Ginny seemed to take it as a genuine blessing and nodded her head, saying "Thank you!"

"I hope you'll be able to forgive me," Ginny said.

"Of course I will," Hermione said, "Now go on, finish your dinner, I'm going to sleep..." Ginny went out of the room, closing the door behind her quietly as Hermione put on her nightdress. As she slipped under the covers, there was a knock at the door for the second time. 

"Come in," Hermione said, sitting up. The figure strode in, flicked on the light and perched itself on the edge of Hermione's bed. It was George. Hermione thought that this would be a good time to tell him about the duel between his brothers, but he was the first one to speak.

"Hermione, Fred told me to –"

"Is Fred alright? Did he eat something? Has he been practicing? Is he going to duel tonight? What if he gets hurt? Where is he? What did he say? How do you know about the duel?"

"What duel?" George asked, though Hermione could tell he was just playing dumb.

"The duel that Ron and Fred are having tonight at midnight," Hermione said anxiously.

"Oh... _that_ duel," George said, sounding disappointed. Hermione could have sworn she heard George mumble, "IF you consider Ron fighting Fred to be a duel!"

"Yes, **that** duel," Hermione said a little throatily. "Are you going to do anything about it?"

"Come off it, Hermione," George said disbelievingly, "You actually think that Ron is smart enough to cause any damage?"

Hermione opened her mouth to respond, but then closed it. George rubbed his eyelid, all the while sporting a triumphant grin, as though he had just won a bet of some sort.

"That's **NOT** the point!" Hermione pestered onward, "The point is that one of your brothers, if not, both of them, are going to get hurt – don't you CARE?"

"Hermione, you can't control _everything_. You have to let some things run its course," George shrugged.

"But it's not like you didn't know," Hermione continued, "You can stop it. You HAVE the chance. You –"

"Look," George cut in, apparently loosing his patience, "The only reason I came here in the first place is to deliver a message. Fred said that you are not to interfere with the duel, which means you are not to sneak outside before midnight to try and stop it. And," George said the word "and" as though it was supposed to cheer Hermione up, "He said that they changed the duel rules," Hermione thought that "they" referred to Ron and Fred, "They're not fighting with wands."

Hermione stared blankly at George, unsure whether or not this was supposed to mean something to her.

"So they're NOT fighting?" Hermione asked hopefully.

"Not with their _wands_, I've taken them," he said, pulling out to thin strips of wood from the pocket of his checkered pants. 

"So they'll be fighting...physically?" Hermione gulped. Fred was stronger than Ron. Fred could probably knock Ron out. Or worse... Hermione was getting nervous by the second.

"Look – Fred warned me to warn you. DON'T try to stop it – you'll just make it worse. And don't tell me that I can stop it," George said as Hermione opened her mouth to protest, "because I'LL just make it worse... Trust me...well, that's all then, I'm off to bed, Goodnight Hermione," George said, closing the light.

"Goodnight George," Hermione said softly. She would not listen to Fred's request to leave him and Ron be. She would not listen to George's warning to let Fred and Ron sort this mess out by themselves. She would do something about it, she would stop it, even if she had to risk...she shook her head. She would not think about what would happen if the plan she had formed in the ten seconds since George had left the room would fail.

A/N: Thank you NYCGAL for the idea of having Ginny PMSing! By the way – I know the thing about Ron not doing George's homework was stupid – that's why I made Hermione shake her head. Thank you for everyone who reviewed and if you didn't – go do it NNNOOOWWW!!!!!!! AND DON'T FORGET TO CHECK OUT MY OTHER STORY, "OF TRAGEDIES AND ROMANCE" BY BLOOD57!!!

*^~^*BLOOD57*^~^*


	4. 

How do I delete this chapter without loosing it's reviews???!!! 


	5. Question THANKS!

I got an idea so I don't need one - but thanks for those who gave me ideas anyway (even though I'm not using them anyway - thanks for taking the time to think them up) School and the holidays is taking up too much of my time (I thought it would be nice to update my story on my b-day [September 20th] but it doesn't look like I had much time -_- [sad face]) I have a question for you guys though...I want to delete chapter 4 and 5 because technically they aren't really part of the story - but if I delete them will I loose my reviews for that chapter, or will the reviews remain there even though I deleted the chapter? Does anyone know?  
  
*^~^*BLOOD57*^~^* 


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